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If you've been skeptical about deep-sixing your landline, it's nowtime. Talk is cheap, and call quality is fab... mostly, anyway.
8x8 Packet8 Digital Phone Service
The company sent us a sweet $300 video phone, but the hardwarewasn't enough to mask intermittent problems. Call quality on our endwas gener ally fine; however, our gabbing partners often groused abouta loud crackling noise. Plus, the Web-based account manager is obtuse,requiring multiple clicks to access features like call forwarding andlogged calls.
WIRED: Quick and easy setup. Monthly feecovers calls to US and nine other countries. Optional $199 annualcontract offers $100 savings. Tango videophone we tested had a 5-inchLCD and nifty rotating camera.
TIRED: Inconsistent voice quality. Online layout is drab and uninviting.
$25 per month, packet8.net
 SIPphone Gizmo Project
Break free from the Skype-using herd! Unlike Skype, GizmoProject is based on an open standard, which means you can connect withother networks, such as AIM and MSN Messenger. A cool Account Snapshotspots missed calls, accesses your profile, and keeps tabs on yourbalance.
WIRED: Clear-as-a-bell calls. Free voicemail.Voice messages delivered via email. Ability to record calls to harddrive. Competitive international rates for calls to landline and mobilenumbers.
TIRED: No all-you-can-talk plan. Dialing on the fly involves multiple clicks.
Free computer-to-computer calls; various prepaid rates andper-minute rates for calls to landlines or cells in and outside the US,gizmoproject.com
 AT&T CallVantage
Hats off to AT&T for its all-around solid service. Setup wasa snap - we were ready to make calls in about six minutes, and thephone's friendly beep indicating successful installation was a nicetouch. The online account manager is as efficient as can be: You canaccess a host of settings, such as call waiting and voicemail, withjust one click.
WIRED: Excellent call quality — no echoes,choppiness, muffling, or background interference. Before placing thefirst call, Ma Bell asked us to confirm our address for Enhanced 911,saving a trip to the Web site.
TIRED: Area code required for local dialing. Monthly fee covers calls to the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico only.
$25 per month, attcallvantage.com
 Skype
With a reported 220 million-plus users, even the mostsocially impaired can find somebody to talk to on Skype. Yet callquality falls a hair short of Gizmo's, with words occasionally gettingclipped. The main interface feels a bit overcrowded, too, though welike how easy it is to hop between tasks, whether dialing, adding acontact, or using SkypeFind to locate a café .
WIRED: Flat yearly rate for unlimited phoning to numbers in the US and Canada; competitive rates for the rest of the planet.
TIRED: Voicemail costs $20 a year, unless youhave a SkypeIn number ($60 per year). Standard conference calls limitedto nine people plus host.
Free Skype-to-Skype calls; $30 per year for landline or cell calls in the US and Canada, skype.com
 Comcast Digital Voice
Comcast's service is the priciest one we considered, by along shot. And that hefty fee only buys you calls to the US, Canada,and a few US territories. At least call quality was terrific most ofthe time, although a handful were choppy — as if a blustery wind werewhipping through the wires — and one connection was mysteriouslydropped. One perk: no wrestling with installation. Comcast sends a techto do the honors.
WIRED: Online account is easy to navigate. Quick pickup by tech support.
TIRED: Company offers a discount on service only if you're a cable andhigh-speed Internet customer. The savings: a measly $5. Pay as you gofor all calls to numbers abroad. Bulky 8 x 7 x 1.9-inch box.
$45 per month, comcast.com/comcastdigitalvoice
Verizon VoiceWing
Verizon's VoIP service is not for the impatient. Setup wasthe most cumber some of all the services we tested. After logging in tothe VoiceWing site, we had to register the telephony adapter's MACaddress (twice), click through a series of screens while hooking upcords, then wait a few more minutes. Once up and running, call qualitywas impressive for domestic connections but sounded slightly muffled onoverseas calls.
WIRED: Compact adapter (4 x 4 x 1 inches). No wait time for tech support.
TIRED: Fee covers only the US, Canada, PuertoRico, and other US territories. Cluttered online account manager makesaccessing billing info a chore. No discount for existing VerizonWireless customers.
$25 per month, voicewing.com
Lingo
Looking for a bargain? Lingo's low monthly fee covers unlimitedcalling to the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and more than 20 othercountries, including Australia and most of western Europe. Although weinitially encountered an annoying echo with overseas connections, aftercontacting the company for help, the problem went away. Domestic callswere superb, soundwise.
WIRED: Most inexpensive plan. Tidy onlineaccount manager. No hold time for tech support. Optional mobile planlets you save big bucks when making international calls on your cellphone. (First dial a designated number to connect with Lingo, then makeyour international call.)
TIRED: Some cable-futzing required during setup.
$22 per month, lingo.com
Vonage
Enough already with the insufferable ad campaign. But we'llgrudgingly forgive Vonage because it delivers the goods. Call qualityis first-rate, account management is a breeze, and the service boastssome unique features: You can limit how much bandwidth gets doled outto calls while keeping sound quality optimized, and Vonage will convertyour friends' rambling voicemails to text and deliver them via emailfor 25 cents a pop.
WIRED: Setup takes just minutes. Monthly plancovers calls to US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and five European countries.Short hold time for phone support.
TIRED: Sometimes had trouble accessingvoicemail via Vonage's portal. One conversation partner grumbled aboutan annoying "paper crinkling" sound.
$25 per month, vonage.com |
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发表于 2007-11-3 09:05:03
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